276 Glimpses of Mind in Birds. [May, 
GLIMPSES OF MIND IN BIRDS. 
BY DR. CHARLES C. ABBOTT. 
o5 the morning of the 20th of December, 1876, a large flock 
of small sparrows was seen to pass over my house and settle 
down in the old oaks immediately beyond. There they remained 
and chattered for fully an hour, when with one accord they all 
took flight and sped on their way southward. There was no 
need of destroying the lives of any of these joyous songsters, for 
they were so very tame that they were easily recognized while 
busily flitting through the then ice-covered twigs of the oaks. 
They were the common tree-sparrows (Spizella monticola). I 
was so much struck with the peculiarity of their movements, in 
the dual circumstance of migrating in company and in their close 
proximity while on the wing, — two conditions I had never before 
noticed with reference to this sparrow, — that I started out for a 
day in the field, to see if other birds were to be found migrating 
by day, as though endeavoring to escape the severity of the 
weather, which was unusual. 
I-wandered along a wooded hill-side having a southern out- 
look, and from thence to a narrow strip of marshy meadow be- 
yond. An occasional meadow-lark, a single song-sparrow, and 
the grass-finch (Podcetes gramineus), ever at home, were the 
only birds to be seen. After a three hours’ ramble I turned my 
steps homeward. It was scarcely two hours before sunset, and 
while I lingered under the grand old oaks and listened to the oc- 
casional chirp of some unseen and distant sparrow, a loud, whir- 
ring sound and constant chirping caused me to look up. In the 
same oaks was another flock, but of very different birds. They, 
too, were recognized ata glance. They were the purple finch 
(Carpodacus purpureus). They lingered for many minutes, 
when with one accord, though I could not determine upon what 
signal, they, too, took flight, but in a westerly direction and in 
the face of a bitterly cold wind that was just freshening into 4 
gale. 
The particular actions of these two flocks of widely differing 
species of finches were of much interest to me, and have sug- 
gested some thoughts as to the purport of their evidently migra- 
tory movements. 
It is not an unusual occurrence for any one species of our birds 
geen: to quit a neighborhood where they may have been in 
